Megan Brown is Assistant Professor of History at Swarthmore College. A former Fulbright scholar, she was also previously a teaching fellow at Sciences Po in Reims.
An important book that challenges our understanding of the borders
of Europe, and in particular the intuitive idea that it naturally
ends at the Mediterranean. It also deepens our understanding of the
real history of the European project, as opposed to the myths that
surround it.
*International Affairs*
Brown casts a new light on the history of European integration,
bringing out the contorted effort of French leaders to insist that
Algeria was an integral part of France at the same time that France
was an integral part of Europe. Her story helps us understand still
ongoing conflicts over colonialism, race, and economic
interests.
*Frederick Cooper, author of Africa in the World: Capitalism,
Empire, Nation-State*
An impressive book that makes a new and important contribution to
the story of Algerian independence. Brown shows that the history of
decolonization in Algeria was not only a question about
citizenship, French sovereignty, and Algerian nationhood, but also
a crucial arena for determining the meaning of European integration
in the postwar decades. The book rests on a prodigious amount of
archival work, but Brown wears her erudition lightly in prose that
is clear, concise, and effective. I wholeheartedly recommend The
Seventh Member State.
*Joshua Cole, author of Lethal Provocation: The Constantine
Murders and the Politics of French Algeria*
Brown explains brilliantly how the history of the European Union is
linked to the imperial past of its member states. In retracing the
forgotten story of Algerian membership in the European Community,
she reinterprets the concept of Eurafrica, questioning the
boundaries of Europe and the identities of European citizens. A
fascinating new perspective on what European integration could have
been.
*Guia Migani, University of Tours*
Brown presents a new angle on European integration and the concept
of Europe itself by calling attention to the ‘seventh member
state,’ Algeria. This valuable work offers a striking example of
how decolonization was more often than not a protracted and messy
process rather than a straightforward transfer of power. In a
clear, brisk narrative, Brown also enlarges our understanding of
the diplomatic context for the Algerian War, as well as the
international dimensions of Algerian independence.
*Owen White, author of The Blood of the Colony: Wine and the
Rise and Fall of French Algeria*
In this excellent book, Brown illuminates all the complexities and
difficulties the six member states of the European Community,
especially France, had to deal with when confronted with the
decolonization of Algeria on the one hand and the European
integration process on the other.
*Véronique Dimier, author of The Invention of a European
Development Aid Bureaucracy: Recycling Empire*
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